Russia

Selling sex in Russia is administratively, not criminally, prohibited under Article 6.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences, carrying a fine of 1,500–2,000 rubles — symbolic in value but enough to enter the worker into police records. Procurement is heavily criminalised: Criminal Code Article 240 ("involvement in prostitution") carries up to 6 years (8 years with a minor or organised group), and Article 241 ("organisation of prostitution") carries up to 5 years, rising to 10 years where force or minors are involved. Clients of adult workers face no federal penalty unless coercion or a minor is involved. The 2013 "gay propaganda" law was expanded in December 2022 to cover all ages, and on 30 November 2023 the Supreme Court designated the (non-existent) "international LGBT movement" as extremist, triggering Criminal Code Article 282.2 exposure for participation (up to 6 years) or organising (up to 10 years). Federal Law 386-FZ of 24 July 2023 banned medical and legal gender transition outright.

Pre-2022 Moscow and St Petersburg sustained a large indoor commercial-sex economy through saunas, apartments, and escort agencies, with Silver Rose in St Petersburg as the most visible advocacy presence. Since the February 2022 invasion the picture has degraded sharply: sanctions cratered disposable income, the September 2022 partial mobilisation drove an exodus of clients and providers, and police raids have intensified — St Petersburg authorities dismantled an organised brothel "training" operation in February 2025 and broke up further networks in May 2025. The State Department's 2025 TIP Report documents authorities routinely treating trafficking victims as illegal migrants and charging them under Art 6.11 without screening. Year-round conscription from 1 January 2026 has tightened exit controls for men 18–30, and martial-law-adjacent measures are active across border regions.

Roskomnadzor has fully restricted Telegram in southern regions from October 2025 and near-completely blocked it nationally by April 2026, blocked 469+ VPN services by February 2026, and targeted OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard protocols directly. Putin's July 2025 law made "intentional search for extremist content" — including LGBT-tagged material — finable from September 2025. From February 2026 the FSB can order ISPs to cut connections without a court order. The state-backed messenger Max, pre-installed on every device sold in Russia since September 2025, is integrated with SORM surveillance.

Do not travel. The US State Department maintains a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory citing wrongful detention, arbitrary enforcement, terrorism, and active war. All US consulates have suspended operations. There are no direct Western flights; exit requires routing through a third country, with Russian border officers empowered to detain. The ICC arrest warrant against Putin (issued 17 March 2023) does not protect foreigners inside Russia. LGBT travellers face extreme risk: the "international LGBT movement" extremism ruling means displaying a rainbow flag is criminal. Dual US-Russian citizens will not be recognised as American; trans travellers cannot legally update documents and risk detention on identity mismatches.

None recommended. Russian-language directories that historically operated are subject to Roskomnadzor blocking and operator data-sharing with the FSB via SORM. Telegram, historically the dominant booking channel, is now actively throttled. Any platform that touches LGBT content carries Art 282.2 exposure.

• Silver Rose (Серебряная Роза, St Petersburg) — Irina Maslova, founded 2003
• SWAN — Sex Workers' Rights Advocacy Network (Eastern Europe & Central Asia)
• Red Umbrella Fund — continued funding for Russian groups into 2025